WOODY HERMAN

Woody Herman

The Hut

Here is Woody’s ill-fated recording at Chess records in Chicago. Chess was the premier studio in the country for blues, not so much for big band jazz. But a couple of interesting things about this recording are that, like many of the big bands in that time period, it was made up of many North Texas alumni.  On this there were the following:

Pete Dalbis (he only attended one year) Tom Malone, Alan Gauvin, Ed Soph and while not a student, Bob Burgess who had moved there a few years prior.

Also, Chicago guitar player Phil Upchurch was drafted to play the pop guitar parts.

AllMusic Review by Jason Ankeny

The Richard Evans-produced Heavy Exposure is a bold if ultimately unsuccessful attempt to fuse Woody Herman's signature big-band approach with more contemporary soul-jazz and bossa nova sensibilities, embracing pop hits like "Aquarius," "My Cherie Amour" and "Sex Machine" alongside more conventional jazz fare like Herbie Mann's "Memphis Underground," the record simply casts too wide a net, and never settles into a coherent groove. That being said, there are some choice cuts here, most notably the funky "The Hut" and a blistering reading of the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing," and to Herman's credit the album's commercial overtures feel neither forced nor awkward.

Bill Chase (tp,arr) Bill Byrne, Harry Hall, Richard Murphy, Rigby Powell (tp) Bob Burgess, Pete Dalbis, Tom Malone (tb) Woody Herman (cl,as,ss,vcl) Sal Nistico, Steve Lederer, Frank Vicari (ts) Alan Gauvin (bar) John Hicks (p) Donny Hathaway (org) Phil Upchurch (g) Gene Perla (b) Ed Soph (d) Richard Powell, Marshall Thompson (perc) Richard Evans (arr)